Tuesday 16 Jun 2009

I have been eagerly counting down the weeks until launch day of this game since Nintendo first unveiled its existence back in February. My friends and I logged a good many hours with Excite Truck, not only completing the game but successfully S-ranking each track and challenging each other’s scores again and again, so I couldn’t wait to get behind the wheel again.

Fans of the series will be happy to know that Excitebots: Trick Racing picks up right where Excite Truck left off, only this time it’s crazier and even faster than before! Is that even possible? Yes!

Learning the ropes

The first thing you will notice is that the usual vehicles have been replaced with robotic insects, ranging from ladybugs to bats and even centipedes. The power-ups have also become somewhat less conventional. You start the game with quite a few insects to choose from, but as you progress in the game it becomes clear that scoring stars is not just essential to secure that coveted top spot but also to purchase more insects to drive. You will unlock more insects to purchase as you progress but be warned that the price is quite high so you would do well to save your stars and spend them wisely. You can also buy new icons, colours for your bots and even statues so there is a nice element of customization and achievement to the game.

You start the game with a brief tutorial in Excite Race mode which is very helpful in teaching you the basics of driving, you can either use the Wii Remote, holding it sideways just as you did in Excite Truck, or the Wii Wheel. The control system for the Wii Remote is both intuitive and easy to pick-up-and-play: press ‘2’ to accelerate, ‘1’ to brake or reverse and up or down on the D-pad to boost. Tilt the remote left or right to steer and backwards to jump while in the air. The controls work the same for the Wii Wheel except that you can also use B to boost. It boils down to a matter of personal preference as to which control method you prefer.

The beginning levels of the game are quite simple and you will find yourself breezing through, scoring A’s and maybe even a couple of S’s quite easily. However, the difficulty level of the game soon ramps up and you will find yourself repeating levels, not only to secure your S rank but just to secure the B in each level of a stage needed to unlock the next stage. In my opinion Excitebots is more difficult than Excite Truck because not only are more stars required, but it’s harder to score stars and cross the finishing line first because of everything that is going on at the same time.

The elusive S rank

However, if you have ever played Excite Truck you will know that this is where the real joy of the Excite series lies, in challenging you to try new routes and vehicles, aim for the power-ups and ultimately adopt different driving strategies to conquer different courses. With Excitebots, winning is not everything. You will also need to perform stunts and tricks to earn stars and score a higher rank, with S being the highest you can achieve.

Some of the power-ups in the game are the same as Excite Truck, with certain ones morphing the terrain to give you a much needed speed boost, air lift and also throwing other bots off course while others give you rings through which to jump and score stars. You also earn stars in a similar way to Excite Truck by drifting, getting air, performing tree runs and air spins and, of course, smashing your opponents! Earn bonus stars by crossing the finishing line, your final place determining the bonus. If you crash simply shake the remote to return to the race but you will lose valuable time so try to avoid that tree!

However, this is where the similarity ends. Bots have been injected with a new lease of life thanks to new power-ups, items and abilities. Let’s start by taking a closer look at the crazy ones. When we first heard about the game we often joked about the expressions ‘ Super Pie Face’ or ‘Super Sandwich’ which we had seen in the trailer, but I didn’t really understand the real joy of this new mechanism until I successfully scored my first pie face! If a question item box gives you a pie to hold in your Bot’s claw, you will soon see a clown’s face appear a bit further down the track – at this point press ‘A’ to release the pie, hopefully hitting the clown in the face and scoring a Super Pie Face in the process. It works similarly with a dart board or sports tricks which may see you scoring extra stars by knocking over a set of bowling pins or scoring a goal with a soccer ball. You can also pick up items such as bombs, mallets to take out the competition and even a tambourine to play a quick tune.

Crazy power-ups

If you manage to grab the wrench item your Bot will get the ability to run, tilt the Wii Remote left and right to run and build up a bit of much needed speed. Head towards a ramp while in leg form and you will launch as a Glider to soar over the competition below, tilt the remote backwards to go up and forwards to go faster. It’s somewhat difficult to control the Bot while in this form but it will be rewarding once you master it.

Also new to the series is the addition of red, yellow, flip and elevator bars. If you head towards a red bar your Bot will automatically latch on and start spinning. Rotate the remote in a circular motion in time with your Bot and after 10 rotations it will release. Timing the rotations to your Bot will make it swing faster and get a bigger boost when it releases. To be honest this new mechanism is great at first but it soon becomes tiring, not only physically but difficult to time and it sometimes slows you down while your opponents rush ahead of you. Unfortunately there is no way to avoid these bars so it’s pivotal to your success that you refine this technique.

If you see a yellow bar simply hit it to latch on, at which point your Bot will start to spin. Thrust the Wii Remote forward when the Bot is at the bottom of its swing to release. As with the other bars, timing is everything and it’s definitely a skill you will have to develop – if you don’t release at the right time your Bot will go flying uncontrollably into the nearest tree. The pink flip bar enables you to earn stars by performing backflips – again your Bot will latch on at which point you must rotate the remote in circular motions to do backflips when the bar launches you. But again you must time it right or your Bot will be hurled into something a bit too solid.

Online racing

I found Elevator bars to be the hardest to master – your Bot will grab the bar but you must release by thrusting the remote forward at the right time. If you don’t time it right then your Bot will crash into the surrounding walls but if you get it right you will be lifted into areas that you otherwise would not be able to access.

The tracks are varied with interactive environments (some feature animated mountains whose hands might fall and crush you at any second) and you will have to employ different driving skills to conquer the different terrains. For example, you will find your Bot overheating more quickly in the desert areas and drifting in a different way when traveling over water. Taking a wrong turn is never a bad thing in Excitebots because it will often uncover different routes and you will find that certain routes might earn you more power-ups and place you ahead of the competition. Finding alternative routes is key to earning you first place and also ensures that the gameplay is never boring because even after a dozen runs of the same track you will stumble upon a new route to try, complete with different power-ups of course.

The game also includes Poker Race, where players collect cards and form poker hands while racing, and fun mini-games ranging from dart throwing to soccer. You can also compete with up to five other people thanks to Nintendo WiFi Connection. This is where the replayability of the game really shines. Not only is it completely awesome to race against other racers from around the world, but it’s also a great way to earn more stars more quickly. If you choose to bet stars at the beginning of each race, these can be multiplied based on where you finish in the race. The gameplay was very responsive with no detectable lag.

All in all Excitebots: Trick Racing is a worthy successor to Excite Truck and elevates what already was an amazing gaming experience to new heights. Single player or with friends, this game is a must have for adrenaline junkies and for all Wii owners.

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Contributor:	Lisa

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